Page 14 of Ever With Me

She was tempted to ask him if Cormac was his friend, but that just seemed too nosy. It had to be, didn’t it? Brandywood has its fair share of people who’d gone out and done some big things after high school, though.

“Welcome to Brandywood,” she said with an eye roll. “Service is spotty all over town. But we do have Wi-Fi in the store, so if you hang on a minute, I can grab one of the cards we hand out downstairs with the passcode. I think I have some in my room.”

“You don’t know the code?”

She shrugged. “My sister changes it monthly. I don’t bother to keep up with it.”

She stood and grabbed the first-aid supplies, dropping them off in the kitchen. After washing her hands again, she started a pot of coffee, then went down the hallway to her bedroom. Her limbs were oddly jittery—probably a combination of her tiredness and the fact that Brooks Kent was in her living room.

That was a mind trip all by itself.

She slipped into her room as discreetly as she could, hoping Brooks wasn’t watching her and seeing what a disaster her room was. Catching her reflection in the full-length mirror on the wall, she grimaced. Her hair had dried wavy and messily, and she wore sweats.

Yikes—and it was clearly obvious she didn’t have a bra on despite the sweatshirt dampening the effect.

She plucked a bra off the floor, then dug around for a clean T-shirt. Clearly, she needed to do laundry soon.

Finding an old college shirt at last, she yanked it on and then traded the sweats for leggings. She brushed and tied her hair back quickly. Her features were drawn and tired, but she couldn’t do much about that now. Besides, she didn’t want Brooks to think she was trying to impress him. An outfit change could be explained because she’d shown up in a towel before. Makeup would be ridiculous.

She tugged a pair of socks on, then grabbed a Wi-Fi card off her dresser. The delicious, warm scent of coffee greeted her as she opened the door once again. The living room was still only lit by the warmth of a yellow lamp, and her window curtains were tightly shut. Brooks had nestled into the corner of the couch, his head resting against the back cushion. His eyes were closed and . . .

He's asleep.

She hadn’t been out of the room that long, had she?

Maddie bit her lip.

She should wake him up, give him the cup of coffee, and send him on his way. The last thing she wanted was a strange man sleeping in her living room, no matter how famous he was.

But something about him resting there made her feel bad for him. Hehadjust been through an accident and—apparently—not slept for a while either.

Dammit.

Considering the amount of trouble he’d caused her, she didn't feel like being nice to him. His attitude wasn’t great either. He was standoffish and sometimes even rude. Clearly not interested in being friendly.

Then again, he offered to stay and help clean up the Depot.

He must be exhausted if he’d fallen asleep so quickly. And what harm could really come from letting him take a nap? She sighed, then headed back into her room, locking the door behind her. Let him nap. She could use one, too.

I just hope I don’t regret this.

6

BROOKS

Sneakingout of some random girl’s apartment hadn’t been on Brooks’s list of activities for the day, but here he was, doing it anyway.

Even though the last time he’d done this, he’d been a lot younger, and it had been after a much better night, damn if the guilt wasn’t similar.

Maddie seemed nice enough—hell, she’d let him stay asleep on her couch—but waking up here had startled the shit out of him. He wanted to be at least a few miles away before this sleepy town woke up and anyone else discovered him here.

He found his way out of the apartment through that hallway in the back of the store, grabbed the guitar and duffel bag he’d taken out of his car before it’d been towed, and then went out a back door that let him out into a small parking lot.

After checking that the door locked shut behind him, he reached into his pocket for his sunglasses. Not the best way to remain incognito, but it was better than nothing. All he needed was to find a pocket of cell service, call Cormac to pick him up, and he’d be fine.

Except I’m out of a car and my life feels in shambles.

He’d come here to get away from the mess he’d created in Baltimore, but the truth was the mess had started long before that.

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